A New Life
by Andreya Halms
Summary: A certain Uchiha returns to Konoha after 3 years of his presumed death, and only Hinata knows of it. Taking care of Sasuke can be pretty fun, except for the "accidents" of sorts that keep on following them. And what's this about hickeys?
1. Whim

**Chapter 1:Whim**

The raven haired man with onyx eyes surveyed the huge gates in front of him. He had left that place a long time ago, when he was still a kid. People had tried to stop him, one annoyingly persistent dobe in particular.

'Konoha…' the man whispered to himself.

It was the place where he had been born, the place where his entire clan had been massacred by his elder brother, the place of his ex- team mates. He had had a lot of emotional ties with Konoha village.

It had become, therefore, a weakness. He was an avenger. The only feelings he could allow himself to harbour were those of hatred and revenge.

So he had left, vowing never to return. Funnily enough, he found himself standing there with mixed emotions.

A slight wind blew, rustling the leaves of the trees. The man remembered something his sensei from Konoha had told him once.

'_If revenge is what you seek, then at the end, all you will be left with is a hollow feeling. If you immerse yourself in revenge, you will ultimately lose yourself.'_

Had he lost his mind? Why was he back? What was that tight knot he felt in his chest as he looked at those familiar gates?

For the first time since he was 7, nearly 15 years ago, the man was unsure of himself. He took a step towards Konoha and stopped.

_A presence. Somebody is spying on me._

He moved faster than Jiraya confronted with a naked young woman, grabbed the spy by the neck and pinned her up against a tree trunk.

Sharingan met Byakugan.

'Hinata Hyuga.' He said emotionlessly, as if he was stating a fact. He released her, and Hinata sank to her knees, gasping for air.

'S-Sasuke Uchiha.' She said the six most infamous syllables of Konoha. 'W-What are you doing here? N-Naruto…w-we thought you were dead.'

The Sharingan faded away and the onyx eyes once more strayed to the huge gates. 'I came here on a whim, but I think I'll stay.'


	2. Homecoming

**Chapter 2: Homecoming**

_**~SASUKE'S POV~**_

Whims are so annoying.

I came to Konoha on one, thinking that I would show them that I was not a village traitor, like Orochimaru.

I concealed my chakra and used the Transformation jutsu to turn myself into an old lady and check things out. Life in Konoha had returned back to normal. Everybody went around with their usual business. A small, noisy, rotating blur sped away, trampling over my feet.

'Mizuro!' the child's mother scolded. 'Behave yourself, or the ghost of the Uchiha will punish you.'

I kept on walking. I remembered that woman- she was one of the trillion or so members of my "official fan club", back from my genin days. It was funny how people's mentality can change so quickly. I wondered what Naruto would think of me now. Concerning him, I had mixed feelings. I hated him, but at the same time, he was the closest thing I had to friend, although I had shunned him aside.

For some reason, Hinata Hyuga's face flashed into my mind. She was the only one who knew I was here. Thinking back, I should have killed that failure then and there.

But I did not. Why? I was surprised to see here, but even more surprised to see her wearing a Jounin uniform. Killing a Jounin would initiate a red-alert in the entire village and the security would be tightened. But then, if the Hyuga heiress told the Hokage about me, a red alert would be initiated anyway, not only in the village, but the entire country. Maybe I let her live on a whim.

Feh. Whims really are annoying.

_**

* * *

~HINATA'S POV~**_

I couldn't get that encounter out of my head.

I was caught off-guard by Neji's attack and droplets of blood flew out of my mouth as my cousin's chakra infused fists slammed into my abdomen. I went limp, and Neji caught me in his strong arms.

'Daijobu ka, Hinata-sama? Should we stop sparring for today?' the veins in his temples receded.'

'Hai.'

We walked across the courtyard of the Hyuga household. Neji bowed slightly, and we separated, each of us going our own separate directions.

'Hinata-sama?' Neji called.

I paused and turned. 'Yes?'

'I might not be here for the next 2 weeks or so. I have been assigned an ANBU mission, starting tomorrow.'

I nodded. 'I understand. Best of luck.'

Once Neji would be gone, there would be no one in the manor except me. Otousan, Hanabi, and the other members of the household had gone for a trip to the Land of Tea.

Now. For the more pressing matter at hand. What would I do with Sasuke Uchiha? There was peace in Konoha. It meant that Sasuke had not revealed himself. So, I was the only person who knew he was here. As one of Konoha's Jounin, it was my duty to report any danger to the Hokage.

But Sasuke wasn't a danger.

Of course not. He was a disaster, a monster surpassing the Sannin.

_But,_ a voice inside me said,_ if he is really as bad as people tell him to be, why didn't he kill you when he had the chance?_

_No,_ I argued,_ he must have some motive behind it._

The last time he'd shown his infamously pretty face, half of Konoha had been destroyed. Naruto-kun had taken things into his own hands.

Naruto-kun. He was…

I tried not to think about it and knew what to do. There was only one option.

_**

* * *

~AUTHOR'S POINT OF VIEW~**_

Sasuke glared at the dark ceiling, as if challenging it to attack. He tossed and turned in his bed and finally rolled down to the floor with a loud thump.

Cursing loudly, he got up, pushed his bangs out of his eyes, and was about to turn his bed into a lump of charcoal, when he heard a loud grumbling noise.

He cocked his head. _What's that?_

The noise repeated itself.

_Oh. It's me._ He was hungry.

He didn't bother searching the larder for food. It had become vermicompost anyway.

Sasuke was in Uchiha Manor, his house from back when the rest of his clan was still alive. Nobody had been there since he had left. The electricity and water supply, a dirty stain that was his parents' blood, the kunai that Itachi had thrown at him on that fateful night, everything, was as it was.

Sasuke glanced at his reflection in the mirror. A pale, vampire-like face stared back. Scars snaked their way up his forearms and body, hidden under Itachi's old clothes. His face had been spared- not many could as much as lift a finger after confronting the blazing Managekyou Sharingan, let alone look at the face that beheld it.

His stomach growled again _seriously. If this continues, I'll start sounding like Naruto._

He didn't have any money to buy food; the legacy he had inherited from the Uchiha and the orphans' relief fund lay somewhere deep in the vaults of Konoha.

_I have to wait till nightfall before I can catch something._ He smirked._ Something or someone, depending on the situation._

He heard a knock on the front door and froze. Had that Hinata informed the authorities? Not that the authorities would be a problem, he could get rid of them as easily as he could a mosquito. However, just in case, he activated his Sharingan and advanced towards the door.

* * *

Hinata hoped that she had done the correct thing.

The door in front of her opened and a figure stepped out into the orange light of the setting sun. Sasuke pulled her inside the house, slammed the door shut and hoisted her up against the wall by her neck.

'What are you doing here?' he hissed.

'Unnn…I-I thought that you might be h-hungry, and so I got some food for you.' The basket in her hand fell and rice balls and a few apples rolled out.

'How do I know you are not planning to attack me?' He placed his hand on Hinata's chest. 'For example, your chest, unlike mine is a lot bigger.' He squeezed it slightly. 'There might be some weapons concealed there.'

Hinata felt her face go hot. 'Well, its because…um…my sex is…I am a female. Those are my…er…'

'Your what, exactly?' Sasuke sounded really curious and his Sharingan faded away to be replaced by his dead looking onyx eyes.

'Erm…my…er, how can I say it…my b-'

'Oh.' Sasuke just realised what it was and removed his hands rather hastily. Hinata collapsed to her knees, rubbing her neck.

There was an uncomfortable silence during which Hinata gathered the fallen food and Sasuke cursed himself for being so clueless about female anatomy, considering the number that had harassed him throughout his life.

Hinata tried to break the silence. 'A-Ano Sasuke-san? If you must know, I-I didn't tell anybody that you are here.'

Sasuke just swooped down and snatched the basket from her hands. Hinata smiled as she saw him stuff his face and was reminded of Naruto.

Naruto. She shook her head and tried to drive him out of her mind. She sat down on the floor beside Sasuke and was about to help herself to the last riceball, when-

'It's mine!' Sasuke growled.

Tenderly, Hinata withdrew her hand.

'Are you really that hungry?'

'I didn't have cooked food for…a very long time.'

It was getting dark and Hinata got up to switch on the lights. Sasuke grabbed her ankle.

'Don't. This place will stand out like a beacon. People will start talking, and the esteemed Hyuga heiress shouldn't be associating with criminals and _traitors_, even though I'm assumed dead.' The word _traitors_ was said rather bitterly.

'G-Gomen.' She returned to her position beside Sasuke, who had taken to staring at the floor, lost in thought.

Hm. The Uchiha was not as bad as most people thought him to be. She definitely taken the right decision.

**

* * *

That's the end of 'Homecoming'. Hope you liked it. Please review. Suggestions are welcome~**

**Next chapter- Formality**

**-Andreya Halms-**


	3. Formality

**I am really unsatisfied with this chapter, but it is necessary for the story to continue. Don't lynch me, people. Please. A humble request from me.**

**Disclaimer- A disclaimer means disclaimer, so you know what to expect in one.**

**Chapter 3:Formality**

The next few days, whenever Hinata turned up, Sasuke let her in, only because (he said) she had the basket with her.

'I got custard today.' Hinata announced.

'Aa. I hate custard. It's too sweet. Take it away.'

'How rude! Is that how you speak to-' She felt Sasuke grope her butt. She gave an extremely un-Hinata-like squeal and reflexively slapped Sasuke with full force in the face.

Sasuke rubbed his purple cheek. 'Interesting. Perhaps a new variation of the Jyuuken?'

Hinata went red in the face and fidgeted madly with her fingers. 'You cant just s-sexually assault me each time I come here! That day y-you-'

'That day was an accident.' Sasuke pointed out.

'Fine, but now this! I suppose this was an ac-accident too?'

'No.'

'Exactly. I am not a t-toy.'

Sasuke rolled his eyes. 'It was a bug, actually.' He opened his fist to reveal the crushed body of a large, wasp-like creature. 'This is what we call a Shuitetsai. Extremely rare, they are no longer found in the wild. They are bred by only a handful of people, and are mainly used for assassination purposes. The poison they inject is a neurotoxin; it directly affects the nervous system and leads to an excruciating but fast death. Orochimaru used to experiment of them before leaving Konoha.'

'I-I was the target.'

Sasuke gave a dry laugh. 'Those with power are feared, and steps are taken to destroy them. The Uchiha clan was an example, and so is the Hyuuga. Eliminating the next head is a very…ah…tempting thing to do.'

Hinata looked at the bug. Then she noticed something. There was a tiny welt in Sasuke's palm. It was red, and something white was seeping out. The area surrounding the mark had gone slightly blue.

'You were stung.' She looked up and met his eyes. 'You were stung.' She repeated, like she could not believe what she saw.

Sasuke's face remained as impassive as ever, but it glistened with sweat. He swayed and collapsed, dragging Hinata, who tried to catch him, along with him.

They stayed like that for a few seconds, breathing heavily and staring at each other. Sasuke was the first one to break contact.

'So what?' He paused. 'So what if I'm stung?'

'You are going to die.' Hinata tried to blink back her tears. Why was she crying, she did not know. It could have been out of anger at Sasuke's thick-headedness. It could have been out of guilt that he was in this condition because of her.

Or, most absurd of all, it could have been out of sadness.

Was it out of sadness for a person for whom time had been frozen ever since the age of 7, who had committed numerous sins just for the sake of revenge for his family, for someone whom she pitied and wanted to be given a new chance at life?

'Death is nothing but a formality. There is nothing, rather no one in this world worth living for.'

'Don't say things like that. Many people grieved when the news of your death came, and they will again if you die once more.'

'Ah. I am touched. But what about you, Hyuuga? Will you grieve for me too?'

'Please…we need to get to the hospital.'

Something red trickled down Sasuke's pale chin.

Crimson blood accentuating the ivory skin. Onyx hair framing his face. It was so beautiful.

The last thing Sasuke felt before darkness claimed him was rain falling on his face. Rain that seemed to originate from the eyes of the girl above him.'

'I won't let you go, Sasuke-san.' Hinata said. 'For the sake of the person I admire.'

She peeled off her bulky jacket and pants to reveal fishnet below. Her entire body started glowing, emitting green chakra.

**I wrote this one while listening to Lacrimosa ("Weeping" in Latin) by Kalafina. It's been used as Kuroshitsuji's ending, and man, it's awesome. It's got one of those haunting melodies that stay in your head forever. Anyway, that's 'Formality' for you. Next chapter- 'Bonding'. It might be bit longer than the rest. Thanks for reading, please review. A simple ":D" will also do!**

**-Andreya Halms-**


	4. Bonding part I

**Sorry for the long update. First, my grandmom wanted to teach me how to cook. Unfortunately, it seems that hot oil hates me as much as I hate it and so it ATTACKED me. My poor fingers got burnt and I playing basketball with a burnt hand did nothing to help (our House team came 1st!). Secondly, I was a bit busy with my other project, ****Meant As a Joke**** (also SasuHina). Please check it out.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Bonding (Part I)**

Sasuke was falling and tumbling through darkness. Freefalling, without any beginning or end. He tried to move his hand, but it was unresponsive.

_Oh,_ he idly observed,_ my limbs are chained to something. To what, I don't know because to know, I'd have to crane my neck and my neck won't move. But then, if I am chained _and_ falling, the thing I am chained to must be falling with me._

He was babbling uselessly, and he knew it.

A screen crackled to life over his eyes and a distant memory started playing itself. It was black and white, with a lot of grains. The sound was unnecessarily loud and drilled into his ears.

_A tiny, six year old boy hurries through a garden, pulling the hand of a very frail looking girl with him._

'_Hurry up, Hina-chan. It'll fly away/'_

'_What will? Tell me, Sasu-kun.'_

'_You'll see.'_

_The children slow down. The boy puts a finger to his lips and creeps up to a tree. He motions the girl to follow._

'_There.' He whispers and points towards a chrysalis on the bark of a tree. There is a tiny tear in it and something dark is forcing its way out. The two children watch, captivated, as a large butterfly slowly struggles its way out of the cocoon. It stands still for sometime and flutters its wings, as if it does not believe its newfound freedom. Finally it takes off._

'_Pretty!' the girl cries, and the children chase after it through the garden, laughing._

_The girl is determined to catch it, but they lose it. Tears well up in her pupil-less eyes as her 5 year old brain cannot cope up with the loss. She sits down and starts crying._

'_Nee- san says that only weakling cry. You are a weakling then.' The boy says._

_The girl only wails louder and the boy is flustered. What was he supposed to do now? His nee-san was always right, but apparently his friend didn't think so._

_Don't cry.' He says gently. 'If you do, the butterflies will never return.'_

_The girl sniffles and looks up. 'Really?' She asks, rubbing her eyes._

'_I am sure of it.' He is sure because that is the only logic his mind can provide. He delves into his pockets, produces a handkerchief and offers it to the girl. The Uchiha symbol is embroidered on it._

Sasuke landed heavily on something, sending ripples throughout it.

_Where am I? This is all so familiar._

The chains binding him had somehow disappeared. He stood up and took note of his surroundings. Everything was black except for a mysterious mist that seemed to drift somewhere far off- there was no distinction between land and sky.

Speaking of land…Sasuke wasn't even sure that he was standing on normal land. There were ripples where the soles of his feet made contact with the matrix, the edges of the ripples being rings of red.

He didn't know where he was, but he knew what would be coming next.

This was…

The thing he dreaded the most…

The thing he regretted the most…

His only weakness…

His only nightmare…

Suddenly, Itachi's smiling face appeared in front of him.

_You must live, little brother._

Sasuke gave a snarl and slashed through Itachi. The apparition disappeared.

_Sasuke-chan. Don't end up like us._

_If you are truly my son, then live._

'Kaa-san? Tou-san?' The words sounded awkward and rusty coming out of his mouth. He whipped around to see his parents. They looked just as he remembered them- his smiling beautiful mother and frowning but proud father. The distant mist solidified and more people stepped out.

The old lady from the store down the street. Her husband. His parents' friends. His neighbours and their newborn child.

All of them were saying the same thing. Urging him to live on, to carry on the Uchiha bloodline. Oh, it was irony, it really was. When he was alive they haunted him. Now they wouldn't even let him die in peace.

The murmuring ghosts formed a ring around him. His mother and Itachi stepped out, a gentle smile gracing their lips. They tried to touch his face but he shivered and backed away, stumbling in the process.

_Please…_

The others took a step forward, tightening the ring. They outstretched their arms, as if they wanted to touch, to feel the last remaining member of their clan. All of a sudden they stopped and parted to make way for somebody with bright yellow hair and cerulean eyes, who walked in through the clearing. The newcomer held out his hand.

_Come back to us, Sasuke._

What was that dobe's problem? Why couldn't he just leave him alone? Why was he so…so...emotional? Finally Sasuke could not take it anymore. His mentally imbalanced part could not take it anymore.

_Stop it. Stop it. __**STOP IT!**_

Sasuke's eyes flew open and he stared blankly ahead in confusion for a few seconds. He was in light and airy room, lying on a bed with a blanket over him. For a few moments he could pretend that he was still a child waking up after a night of bad dreams.

Sasuke sat up slowly and a damp cloth slid down his forehead. His joints were searing. Well, they should, considering all that lethal venom he had been injected with. He should be dead by now.

Dread filled him. He should be dead but he wasn't. He swore.

_I can't afford to be at a hospital. The authorities…_

His stood up unsteadily and buckled.

_Stupid weakling._

He clutched the bed's headrest and stood up. Keeping one hand on the wall for support, he exited the room. Thankfully, he seemed to be in his own house in the Uchiha sector. His thin clothes felt uncomfortable and suffocating and a wave of nausea swept over him. Sasuke stopped and touched his head to the cool cement wall, praying that he wouldn't be sick all over the floor.

Something sour rose up to his mouth.

_Ah well. It seems that God won't listen to this wish of mine too._

Not that he really believed in God.

He heard somebody give a little squeak. 'Honestly, Sasuke-san. I leave you alone for a minute and you get up and…' The sentence was left unfinished, making it seem more like a scolding.

The speaker draped Sasuke's arm over her shoulder and helped him to the bed.

Normally, Sasuke would have resisted any sort of help. But, somehow, he trusted her. She smelt nice, like Mikoto Uchiha.

Hinata made him sit on the bed and gave him something to drink. He immediately felt stronger. Something chakra inducing, he supposed.

'Why?' Sasuke asked as soon as the burning sensation in his throat receded.

'Hm?' Hinata asked absently as she put away the glass. Judging by the way she interacted with her surroundings, the way she knew where what was, Sasuke deduced that she'd been coming over frequently.

Hinata sat down at the end of the bed.

'Why are you doing this? Taking care of me?'

Hinata gave a bright smile. 'I'm just repaying back a favour. After all, you saved me, didn't you?'

'Don't lie.' Sasuke spat. 'I don't want any of your shit. What's the real reason? Blackmail?' _Although she doesn't look like the type to blackmail._

Hinata's smile faded away and she sighed. 'My point exactly. It's because you speak like this, living a life of solitude and not trusting anybody, that I want to help. You are a human being too, and I believe that everybody deserves a chance to start over. If you must know, all this while I could have simply gone and reported you to the Hokage. Instead, here I am, nursing the one of most wanted men in the country, an S rank criminal, the person who destroyed half my village and caused so much pain to the person I…' _To the person I loved._ 'Anyway, even I don't know I am doing this. Maybe I did this on a whim, and I think I'll stay.'

Sasuke blinked.

_Quoting me, are you? Smart._

He couldn't detect any bad intent coming from her. Plus, he already trusted her long before he was poisoned. There was no reason to stop doing so now. Her soft smile reminded him of somebody and he felt this unnatural desire to protect her. Also, she intrigued him like no other woman had ever done. He shrugged.

'Fine. Whatever you wish. Just don't try anything annoying on me when I'm not looking. That includes attempted molestation of any sort. This has happened before, and trust me, I won't be kind.'

Hinata suppressed a giggle.

And that was the beginning of an old friendship.

* * *

**Ok. There's going to be a part two of this chapter too, which I'll upload (hopefully) by next Wednesday. Something cute (once again, hopefully) will happen.**

**Review. Please. It's a humble request. If you don't know what to review, a simply "keep it up, its good" will suffice.**

**(*sigh* My self respect has taken a major blow after joining )**

**A sneak preview of the next part-**

"**His face was flushed, a mark of the slight temperature he had. Suddenly, she realised that he had grown up a lot since they had last played together as children. More mature. More…dare she say it…**_**sexy.**_** Without meaning to, she leaned forward, strands of her indigo hair brushing his face and touched her lips to…"**

**Well, bye for now. Don't forget to review and check out "Meant As a Joke". Sayonara.**

**-Andreya Halms-**


	5. Bonding part II

**Whoooooo! 11 reviews for the last chapter! That's like more than half of what I got for the entire story so far!**

**Saki-Hime- **The very first reviewer of my story! You really are my hime. I know this is sudden but...

*gets down on knee*

Will you marry me? ;)

**ads**- Thanks.

**Wind upon the Sea**- I totally agree with you.

**GaaraHinataWake**- There. I did.

**kitsunekitsune-bi**- Well, what can I say? I like teasing people!

**Nitinha56**- Same with your story!

**hinata-fan2**-Arigato gozaimasu, ne!

**KristenMoore**- Lolz, thanks. I only wish my English teacher at school would realise this and give me more marks.

**lazyguy90**- Hope this one meets up to your expectations and you find it as promising as the last one.

**Kyoui-san**-Wowie! Thanks for your insight on his dad, and truth to be told, I really wasn't trying to pull the past with present...it just sorta happened. :)

* * *

**Bonding (Part II)**

_Bullseye._

_The thirteenth kunai struck its target, a red circle embedded with twelve other kunai on the bark of a tree._

_A five year old Sasuke wiped sweat off his brow. Even though his arms were aching and his muscles yelling at him to stop, he couldn't. He _had _to surpass his elder brother no matter what. He wanted to be acknowledged by his Tou-san and told once, just once, that he was indeed Fugaku Uchiha's son._

_He took out another kunai from his pouch and rotated it around his index finger by the ring on its holder to get better control of the weapon._

_He threw._

_Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw a little girl stumble out of the clearing and come in the path of the incoming kunai. It was too late to stop it, so he tried deflecting it at the last possible moment. The kunai grazed the girl's temple, narrowly missing her eyes._

_Few minutes later, the girl sat on the ground while Sasuke put a plaster on her cut. She looked absolutely terrified, as if the boy would yell at her if she refused help._

'_Hello. My name is Sasuke Uchiha. What's yours?'_

'_H-Hinata Hyuuga.' She mumbled._

'_What?'_

'_H-Hinata H-Hy-Hyuuga.' She said nervously, a bit louder this time._

_Sasuke stared at the girl. Usually he hated people of the opposite sex- they fawned over him and he found it uncomfortable. But this girl was different._

'_You're cute. Kawai.' He finally commented._

_Hinata shrank back a little. 'A-Arigato.'_

_I like your eyes. They're cute too.'_

_For the first time, Hinata smiled. 'Really? People say they are c-creepy.'_

_Sasuke suddenly realised something. 'Are you lost?'_

_Hinata hesitated and nodded._

'_You said you are a Hyuuga, right? If I take you to the main compound, you might find your way home.'_

_He offered her his hand._

_..._

_A servant ran out of the compound._

'_Hinata-sama! Where were you? You had us all so worried!'_

'_Your Ladyship is hurt!' Someone else exclaimed._

_A mob of maids and servants fussing over Hinata surrounded them and Sasuke found himself being pushed out of the crowd. He waved cheerfully at Hinata, who was blocked by a barrier of people._

'_Bye! Don't get lost again!'_

_Before Hinata could respond, she was swept away by the crowd. Sasuke turned to leave._

'_I hope my daughter hasn't caused you too much trouble.' A stern looking man with long brown hair and lavender, pupil less eyes said._

'_Of course not. I like her.' Sasuke said seriously. 'But I hate the way she speaks. It's very annoying.'_

_Hiashi looked taken aback for a moment. Then he gave a superior smile. 'Well, well, well. If it isn't Itachi Uchiha's little brother. What was your name again? Sake Uchiha?'_

_There it was again. The comparison. It was always "Itachi Uchiha's little brother". Nobody remembered his name. But he didn't hate them or Itachi for it._

'_It's Sasuke.'_

'_Come inside. I'll give you a little reward for helping my daughter. Is there anything you want?'_

'_Tomatoes.' Sasuke said, the first thing that popped into his childish mind._

_Thus began his unusual fetish for tomatoes._

* * *

_**Hinata'S POV**_

Sasuke-san was different from what people thought him to be. I thought hi to be evil and, well, _evil._ The kind that killed cute little innocent kittens just for fun. He was, in fact, an introvert. Usually he would sit quietly and brood, his onyx eyes becoming a dark shade of grey, dull and lifeless. Even though I never spent a night in his house, it was obvious he never slept much. Even in his weakest condition, it was usually four to five hours of rest.

He was a bit…unstable. Once, I caught him conversing with pictures, pictures of his dead family, I suppose. He was what you can call frank and over practical, even though it sounded rude at times. If he said something was bad, it _was_ bad, no matter what the entire world thought about it.

But he was a nice person at times too. He was grateful of the fact that I looked after him and expressed it through his own little ways.

A slight nod of the head, a teasing smirk, an offhand thank you.

These two weeks I spent with him, I got to know more about him, little by little. The most shocking of it was that no girl had ever touched his heart. He said so himself.

This could have only one implication-

He was gay.

'And he probably wants to be with Naruto. Too bad he's already-' I said out loud without realising it.

_Naruto._

He was far beyond my reach now.

'Said something?' The room's other occupant asked, interrupting my not-so-nice thoughts.

'Um, nothing Sasuke-san.'

'Hn. And about the "-san" thing. I'd rather you drop the honorific. I'm not worthy of the respect.'

'Fine.' Even friends didn't use honorifics among themselves. I could look at it from that perspective too.

Sasuke got up from his corner. 'Do me a favour. I've always wanted to test the power of the Byakugan. Let's spar, Hyuuga.'

'Hinata.' I insisted.

'Hinata.' He acknowledged.

* * *

_**NARRATOR'S POV(THAT'S ME!)**_

Sasuke and Hinata walked into the grassy and unkempt Uchiha courtyard. The evening sky was overcast with heavy black clouds, blocking the last rays of the setting sun and ushering in a premature dusk. They took their positions a few meters away from each other.

'Ano… you should know that I'm not the best in the Hyuuga household.'

Hinata could barely see Sasuke shrug. 'Considering what you were back in the Academy, I'm not excepting much from you anyway.'

_Talk about being frank._ Hinata thought.

'But,' Sasuke continued, 'you _are _a Jounin. Let this be training for you. I'll hold back as much as I can and not use the Sharingan.'

Nod.

Sasuke stood there idly while Hinata adopted the traditional Hyuuga stance.

'Byakugan!'

Hinata moved faster than she physically looked capable of and was behind Sasuke.

'You let your guard down.' She jabbed at the back of his head.

He squatted low. 'Lesson no.1. Never aim for the head. It's a smaller target. The chances of missing are high.'

He swept his leg in a roundhouse kick, aiming for her neck. Hinata caught his ankle, stopping the entire leg in mid-kick.

'Going for the ankle instead of the calf. That was the correct way to block my attack.' Sasuke's lip's twitched. 'Let's see you block this.'

In one fluid movement, he rested his fingertips on the ground, lifted his other leg till his whole weight was supported on his hands and kicked. Hinata intercepted it with her palm, managing to partially block the chakra point on his naked sole. Sasuke somersaulted through the air and landed nimbly on his toes a few feet away.

'Having fun?' He smiled. _Smiled._ Well, not _actually _a smile. But closer to a smile than a smirk.

They attacked each other once again, during which Sasuke would pause, point out Hinata's mistakes, correct her, and continue.

Yes, she was having fun. Even though she was bruised and battered, it was still fun.

Crunch.

She spoke a bit too soon.

Her fist collided with his with a disturbing noise. Something got dislocated. That something was Hinata's wrist.

Hinata curled up into a ball and cradled her broken wrist in her intact hand.

'This doesn't hurt. This doesn't hurt. This doesn't hurt.' She chanted to herself and more or less believed it.

More or less.

That was before she did the extremely stupid task of moving her wrist. Tears leaked out from the corner of her eyes involuntarily.

'Itai! Who am I kidding? It hurts!'

She felt herself being lifted, till she was in a sitting position. Sasuke crouched down in front of her and took her wrist in his hands. Hinata sniffled but did not resist. He inspected the injury and sighed, his breath playing on her hand. Without warning, Sasuke twisted her wrist sharply.

White hot pain shot up her arm and, on a reflex, her good arm shot out, whacking Sasuke on the face.

He didn't flinch. 'Very good, Hinata. Bite the hand that feeds you.' His usual baritone voice sounded a bit nasal.

Hinata looked at her wrist on which Sasuke had committed the (supposed) injustice. Turned out, he had actually relocated the dislocated joint. She blushed in embarrassment.

'I-um…sorry.' She said and looked at him.

Their eyes locked. The same memory ran through both their heads. That of Sasuke nursing a hurt Hinata when they had first met as children.

Something shifted inside Hinata's chest. And, for the first time in many years, the ache of loneliness lifted slightly from Sasuke's shoulders.

He was the first one to break the contact. He frowned faintly and gently laid her hand on her lap.

'I'm buying some bandages. You wait. Here. Don't move.' He stood up and made some hand seals. There was a puff of smoke and an old lady occupied the place where Sasuke previously stood. She/he turned and started walking away.

Hinata stared at the moving figure and then at her hand.

A gust of cold wind blew. She realised something.

'Chotto matte, Sasuke. I can heal my-'

But he was already gone.

She smiled softly.

* * *

_**SASUKE'S POV**_

I walked through the streets of Konoha, trying to find a medical store. The one I usually used to go to had turned into a rather sleazy looking inn with neon pink lights that were switched on. Seriously. Why did they have to relocate?

A cool breeze blew by, whipping the thin hair of the old lady I was pretending to be.

Lazily, I remembered that I had destroyed this part of town the last time I was here.

I stooped a bit and let my feet take me wherever they felt like taking me. It was a practice I frequently took up during my years of aimless wandering. The results were usually favourable.

I found myself in a cemetery. Not exactly a cemetery, but a place with a lot of memorials. I saw the memorial that Kakashi usually visited.

One stood out among the rest. It was grander than the rest, bigger and cleaner. A bunch of flowers and the smouldering remains of incense sticks lay in front.

Che. It probably belonged to some old geezer with sky-high ideals about honour, respect, sacrifice and other annoying crap. For some reason, I had this feeling that someone out there had just insulted me.

A symbol on the monument caught my eye.

The Uchiha emblem? And it was dedicated to…

'What the hell?'

I quickly bent down and read the message on the memorial stone. Set in bold and beautiful calligraphy was-

It might be too late

To forget,

But never

To forgive.

In memory of

Sasuke Uchiha,

One of the finest shinobi

The world has ever known.

Whose skill, strength and pride

Equalled to none other.

To Sasuke Uchiha,

Who was

And will continue to remain

In my heart as my

Brother, Comrade, Rival, and

Above all, my

Best Friend.

Besmirching the otherwise elegance of _my_ tomb were the words "Forgive me, teme" engraved untidily into the stone. It seemed as if a particular blonde Hokage wannabe had given in to his emotions (as usual) and attacked, once again, _my_ tombstone with his kunai. I could almost imagine him crying and doing that. Meanwhile, just for the effect, it would be raining.

_That idiot…_

I started to smile but caught myself in time.

_What's wrong with me? Twice in a day? I must be getting soft. First with Hinata, and now here?_

Hinata. That reminded me. I needed to get her bandages. I made my way out of there.

Hinata Hyuuga was a…bearable person. The presence of her water type chakra calmed my fire type. She wasn't the nosy kind, unlike the other women I'd met. I could let my guard down and my mind could be at peace around her. Sure, we used to be friends, but that was before the massacre. She withdrew contact after that. We were two people born under the same circumstances, but our life took different turns. What she had, I didn't and what I had, she didn't.

A place to call home and powers, respectively.

I reached Ichiraku's Ramen.

Yeah. Power was a big problem with her. She was strong…in a weak sort of way. But strong nevertheless.

A deep rumble reverberated from above. I looked up at the sky. Cumulonimbi. Thunder clouds.

I badly needed that workout with her. If I hadn't injured her, we could have continued. I had been sitting still for a long time and the chakra kept building inside my body. Once it crossed a certain limit, it could trigger my…condition.

As if on cue, I began to cough. A horrible, nerve wracking cough. It shook through my entire body and I began to see double. I could practically _feel_ the excess chakra eat through my chakra vessels, slowly but surely.

Shit. This was a level two attack. Level six was death.

My disease was genetic. It ran among the Uchiha, who were blessed with abnormal chakra. The surplus chakra overloaded the vessels, laying a stress on it if it was stored for too long. Usually, the better the shinobi was, higher the risk was.

Itachi had died because of it.

It felt as if something was burning its way through my body. Level three.

'Mamma! Obaa-san has collapsed!' A child yelled.

'Huh? Don't be ridiculous, honey. That's not a lady. It's-'

The child's mother screamed. I winced. Seriously. Women were so noisily annoying.

It began to rain.

Through blurred vision, I could see my grey hair turning black.

Great. Now my cover was blown. With trembling hands, I made a few seals.

…

**I am soooooooo sorrrryyyyyyyy! It's difficult to get beyond 2329 words and five pages at once (excluding the Author's notes)! I swear I'll upload part three soon…by Monday, even if it means letting my arms fall off…promise! Please bear with me! And you can review… it gives me more motivation!**


	6. Bonding part III

**lazyguy90-** Thank you! I'll try to keep it up.

**Nitinha56-** Your love does help me to write faster!

**Wind upon the Sea****-** If I had my way, Itachi wouldn't have DIED. )':

**Saki-Hime****-** Ghost, eh? Maybe they will!

**Izuka****- **I'll try to write my vampire-Slayer story _faster_ but writing fanfictions is way easier than writing original stories. Oh, and isn't it enough that you nag about my writing speed at school? What about your "Ivy" story? Do you have fun torturing me by deciding to just kill everybody in the end?

**GaaraHinataWake****- **Sorry for not listening to what you said. Gomen ne watashi!

**kitsunekitsune-bi****-** I appreciate the fact that you've reviewed each and every one of my chapters, but please update your story too!

**random fan-** Neither can I!

* * *

**Bonding Part III**

* * *

_**NARRATOR'S POV**_

Hinata sat on the floor and drew her knees to her chin. She hummed softly to herself to kill time. Sasuke had asked her to wait but it seemed forever since he had gone. She just hoped that he wasn't caught in any trouble. Recently, his chakra circulation had gone rather erratic. When she had expressed her concerns he had dismissed it with a wave of his hand.

Thud.

Hinata became alert.

_What was that sound I heard just now?_

She activated her Byakugan and scanned around the house. She located something near Sasuke's bedroom. The presence was-

Evil.

Dark.

Terrifying.

Sinister.

Menacing.

Ominous.

Malevolent.

There was no dearth of adjectives Hinata that could use to describe the chakra that she saw. Slowly, she advanced toward its source.

Lightning tore through the sky and in the brief moment of illumination, Hinata saw a pair of glowing red eyes in front of her. Biting back a cry and unthinkingly, she brushed her hand along the switch on the wall and flicked it on.

An absolutely dishevelled looking Sasuke stood in front of her, the black flecks of his Sharingan spinning wildly. His eyes were unfocused, as if he was in a semi-comatose state. He fell on her and she could feel something cold trickling down her neck. Supporting him with one hand, she touched the liquid to see what it was. Her eyes widened. Blood. With a jolt, she realised that she had switched on the lights and switched them off.

Sasuke sagged down and Hinata stumbled forward to the ground, landing hard on her knees. He tightened his grip on her, buried his face into the crook of her neck and began to scream.

Yes, _the _untouchable Sasuke Uchiha began to scream. Hinata was frightened. That was the most spine-chilling noise she had ever heard and would never forget it as long as she lived. Right now, he was just another normal person in unbearable pain.

She felt something squirming inside him, trying to find a way out. Her Bloodline Limit revealed it to be…chakra? Luckily, she had the perfect solution for it.

Hinata rubbed his back, absorbing the chakra. She needed actual physical skin to skin contact for it to work properly, but this would have to do for the time being.

The hours ticked by and Sasuke began to calm down. At least he wasn't screaming anymore and was biting into her neck to suppress them, which she tried to ignore. But he had not loosened his grip on her and was still very feverish.

'Hinata?' Sasuke finally mumbled.

Hinata felt relief wash over her.

'Sh. Don't try to talk.'

'I couldn't get your bandages. Your hand…does it hurt?'

She was touched. She raked her fingers through his hair. 'It doesn't matter, OK? Just try to rest.'

She managed to stand up and took him to his bed.

'Listen…in the cupboard down the hallway…you will some bottles…Get one.'

She found them easily enough. They looked like Tsunade's sake bottles, complete with corks. She took uncorked one and a strong smell of alcohol filled her senses.

'What's this?'

'Medicine. Slightly alcoholic.'

Hinata handed it to him. His hand trembled and he dropped it. The liquid spilt on the bed, darkening the sheets. Sasuke clucked loudly in annoyance.

'Wait. Let me.' Hinata uncorked another one and brought it near his face. He turned away.

'No thank you. I can do it myself.'

'This is not the time to be touchy.'

'I'm not in _that_ bad a condition to have somebody feed me.'

'Sasuke!'

He faced her. Was it his imagination or was the timid Hyuuga girl actually scolding him? Before he could open his mouth to say that just calling out his name in a sharp tone didn't mean that he was actually going to listen to her, he found the contents of the bottle being literally shoved down his throat. After the initial struggle, he gave in and drank the entire bottle.

Hinata was amazed by the instant results the "medicine" showed (she still thought it was just an excuse to drown his problem in alcohol). He was still trembling and hadn't uncurled his fists. But his face looked peaceful. A lot more peaceful than she had ever seen him. Infact, the cold and distant demeanour from his face had vanished completely, leaving a somewhat normal look behind.

_Is he getting tipsy?_

Hinata lit one of the candles she had brought, illuminating the room with a soft orange glow.

'Go to sleep, Sasuke. You need it.'

'No. I won't.'

Hinata couldn't help but feel a bit irritated. This wasn't time for the "tough guy" act, for crying out loud! 'Just-'

'No, you don't understand. I _can't_ do it.'

'You can't sleep?' Hinata asked

Sasuke bolted at the s-word. He tensed his muscles and fidgeted nervously with his fingers. His face, which seemed a bit calm moments ago, had become dark, scared and had a hunted look in them. He reminded Hinata of a spooked deer Shikamaru had shown her a long time ago. The deer had gone on for days altogether without eating and jumping at the slightest noise. Finally, one morning, they found it lying near its shelter, dead from fatigue.

Sasuke's eyes darted from her face to his hands and back to her face.

'I can't.' He repeated. There was a hint of desperation in his voice.

'What's wrong?'

'Nightmares.' Hi whispered. 'E-ever since that day the bug bit me, I dream about them. I dream about _him_. About how I let _him _down. _He _comes to me whenever I'm asleep…I can't take the burden anymore…I simply can't.'

Sasuke looked so broken and fragile like that that Hinata's sole wish at that moment was to take away all his sadness and worry, to make him feel that yes, there was still some warmth in his cold world.

Hinata took his hand reassuringly.

'Don't worry. Everything will be alright. You just need to rest. You'll be fine soon enough. Things like that won't bother you. I'm there, OK? I won't let them come. I promise you this much.'

All she knew about the criminalized Sasuke Uchiha was that he had left Konoha in order to seek revenge, and for some reason had turned against his own village. She did not know what his thoughts were regarding that matter, what had been going on in his mind all these years. But now, hearing him blabber about "_him"_ and how the tiredness showed in his face, she wondered what exactly had had happened to her old friend. She was not a nosy person; her nature permitted her to respect others' privacy. But this was different. This was something she just had to know.

For Sasuke's sake.

As if somebody had thrown a switch, Sasuke suddenly smiled a smile that lit up his eyes. Hinata's heart melted.

'I like you.' He said.

Hinata started. Were her ears malfunctioning?

'W-What?'

'I like you.' He repeated. 'Because you are abnormal.'

'_Abnormal?'_ Hinata asked indignantly.

'Yeah. You are different from the others. You are cute too. Kawai.'

Déjà vu.

_Okay._ Hinata stated mentally. _The normal Sasuke wouldn't be caught dead saying the word 'kawai'. He really must be getting drunk._

She coughed. 'Anyway, I should probably be going now. It's getting late.'

The night was full of surprises. Sasuke tightened his fingers over hers slightly. 'Don't go. Stay.'

Hinata felt herself giving in. after all, she would have to be pretty heartless to ignore the out of character puppy dog look Sasuke was giving her. Plus, the weather was still out of control.

'Fi-Fine.'

Sasuke gave a quick little smile and settled down on the bed.

'Can you sing me to sleep? Please?'

This person said "please". And gave her _the _puppy dog look.

Hinata made herself comfortable on the chair and started her song.

'_Been a long road to follow_

_Been there and gone tomorrow_

_Without saying goodbye to yesterday_'

It was a slow, yet deep song that Hinata had picked up a few days back. She liked the tune; it expressed, or rather, spontaneously overflowed with emotions one could recollect only in sad tranquillity. And the more she thought about it, the more it seemed to suit Sasuke.

'_Are the memories I hold still valid?_

_Or have the tears deluded them?_

_Maybe this time tomorrow_

_The rain will cease to follow_

_And the mist will fade into one more today...'_

The wind had stopped howling by the time she finished, and the candle reduced to a steadily melting stump of wax. Sasuke had stopped fidgeting about and was asleep, his hand holding lightly into hers. Hinata let her gaze wander over him once.

His face was flushed, a mark of the slight temperature he had. Suddenly, she realised that he had grown up a lot since they had last played together as children, both mentally and especially physically. More mature. More…dare she say it…_sexy._ Without meaning to, she leaned forward, strands of her indigo hair brushing his face and touched her lips to his…cheek?

Sasuke chose that moment to turn in his sleep and she found her lips touched to his.

She had kissed others before, but they had either been family, little children or her team mates. And it had always been a little peck to the cheek in caring love, nothing romantic. Never lips. This was different…much more softer…and just different. Pleasantly so. She had an urge to run her fingers through his hair.

Hinata immediately jumped back, mortified. The chair fell to the ground with a loud crash. This was not supposed to happen. This was NOT supposed to happen. She didn't go around doing things like this to friends.

Suddenly, she felt very tired. She had just finished a mission before dropping by and needed rest. She picked up her chair and sat down on it, too weary to return back to the Hyuuga compound.

Hinata went off to sleep.

* * *

_**SASUKE'S POV**_

I winced each time I did something extremely stupid. This was that medicine's fault. It separated my consciousness from the rest of my body and restrained it in a special part of my brain. In other words, I completely lost control over my actions and mental barriers.

Suspended deep inside my sub consciousness, I was aware of what I was doing, but there was nothing I could do to stop myself from doing it.

So, I winced. I winced when I saw myself behaving as some sort of clingy child. I winced when I saw myself blabber out whatever I had worked so hard to conceal.

This was just like the time with that woman, but that was redundant.

I heard singing. Hinata had a nice voice, I granted her that. Pity she did not use it more.

I felt the effects of the drug wear away. My sub consciousness slipped to make way for my consciousness and my body moved involuntarily.

That was when Hinata kissed me.

_Hina-chan…_

This was molestation. And I remember stating _clearly_ that I would not tolerate anything of that sort, especially when I was asleep.

I smirked.

_But I guess I can let it pass, Hinata. Just this once. Only because it's you._

Why?

I didn't like the first answer to that question that popped into my mind.

I shook my head, trying to drive out those asinine thoughts out of my mind.

* * *

**Done. I wanted to write this chapter for a looooooooooooooong time. Please review. Any sort of suggestion, idea, thought, feedback welcome.**

* * *

**Next Chapter-Caught**

**Sasuke's cover is blown.**


	7. Caught

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**Thanks to-**

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**GaaraHinataWake- Thanks.**

**Saki-Hime- Arigatou.**

**Darkangl28- Yeah, you might get to know who concocted the medicine.**

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**AkaruiGekkou- There isn't much of a confrontation here...  
**

* * *

**Caught**

* * *

_**NARRATOR'S POV**_

He woke up to the warmth of the rays of the sun touching his face. He closed his eyes and offered a quick prayer for a certain somebody, a daily practice. He opened his eyes again and grinned. Last night had been…fun. He felt the place beside him with his hand. It was empty. She had probably left him and gone for her daily rounds at the hospital early in the morning.

'That was mean.' He whined in mock sadness to himself.

He got off his bed and yawned, scratching his thigh lazily. He jumped when he heard a loud banging noise. It sounded as if someone was trying to break his door down. He should probably go open it.

There was a roar of 'shannaro!' followed by an even louder sound of something heavy crashing down.

Too late. Maybe she already broke it down.

'Naruto!' His girlfriend yelled, charging into his bedroom. 'Where are you? Don't try to hide from me! I know you're here!'

'D-Down here, Sakura-chan.' Came Naruto's muffled voice.

Sakura removed her foot from his face hastily and helped him get up. She looked like she'd just run a marathon and come first.

'Naruto!' She said flailing her arms like a windmill. 'It's about Sasuke-kun!'

That had the desired effect on him. Naruto immediately sprang to attention, all traces of sleep gone.

'What of him? Is there any news?'

Even though Naruto and Sakura had seen Sasuke die, they never gave up hope that he could have, just by luck, actually survived.

'They say that he turned up near Ichiraku's ramen yesterday. Before anybody could get a better look, he disappeared. Also, people say that they saw a light, an _electric_ light, in the Uchiha compound! I don't know, Naruto. I want to go there right now…' She trailed off and looked guiltily at him.

'What are we waiting for?' He crossed the room to his bureau and took out something that his best friend had left back all those years ago. 'Let's go, then.'

He ran out, quite forgetting the fact that he was wearing only his underpants. Sakura followed him.

_Wait for us, teme._ Naruto thought determinedly. _We're not letting you get away this time._

* * *

_Eyes a blazing red, Sasuke looked at the carnage around him. The very air was filled with the stench of blood and the ground strewn with corpses, corpses and more corpses. Several of them lacked chunks of flesh and other body parts. Everything around him tasted of death, if there was really such a taste._

_He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Itachi had lived through all this. This would make the people of Konoha understand what his brother had gone through because of their desire for war. This was bliss, perfect harmony. A beautiful symphony composed by none other than himself in tribute to his entire clan._

_Sasuke's eyes flew open._

_No. This was not _it._ Not the music he'd imagined. Why?_

'_Something is still alive.'_

_He scanned the perimeter and saw something move._

_A hand. Then another. Then a shock of long indigo hair. Who was this determined fool? It didn't matter anyway; she would soon be gone with a little help of his chidori._

This is wrong.

'_No it isn't.'_

This is wrong.

'_IT IS NOT.' He roared to himself._

_Blast him and his newfound "conscience". He was so close to achieving his goal and these stupid thoughts just had to come._

'_Sasuke!' A familiar voice yelled, snapping him out of his mental dilemma. His loyal comrades, as they liked to call themselves. Their appearance was almost predictable._

'_Naruto.' Sasuke hissed, sheathed his katana, turned and ran. Sakura went to the aid of the survivor, promising to catch up with them later in that horribly whiny voice of hers._

_The two sped through the forests surrounding the village, Naruto attacking and Sasuke taking the occasional blow. The entire way _something_ in his head continuously nagged him about what he was doing was wrong, urging him to do something for the greater good. He pushed those thoughts away._

_Seriously. Before he knew it, the next thing he might be doing was giving out free candy to little children. He hated children._

_The trees thinned out in front of him and Sasuke finally stopped and turned around. In front of him was his best friend and opponent, Naruto. Behind him was the deep ravine at the edge of Bear Country, noxious fumes rising up from its depths._

_Sasuke smirked. Naruto grinned. This was it. The final fight. The one both of them had been waiting so long for._

_A silent signal sounded and both of them started._

_Sasuke felt something was off. No matter how hard he tried, he could NOT get himself to kill that blonde bastard. This fight could have been over as soon as it started. But no, he couldn't help but prolong it as much as he could, wearing out both himself and his opponent._

_Could it be because he did not want to kill him?_

_A shrill noise pierced his ears._

_He stopped. Was that the reason? Bonds?_

_Something prickly and painful slashed through his calf, numbing his feet. Some Rasengan-shuriken hybrid thing. Who knew that that guy had been hiding something like _that_ up his sleeve all this while?_

_A dead feeling spread slowly up his body and Sasuke tottered slightly backwards. Huge mistake._

_One moment there was solid soil, terra firma, under him and the next moment there was nothing. He had only his stupidity to blame. Without noticing it, he had strayed too near to the edge. He fell._

_Ah well. He was dying anyway. Even if he somehow managed to survive the fall, he would need nothing short of a miracle to survive in the poisonous gas. Trust Itachi to remove Orochimaru's seal, the only thing that could have helped him at the moment. He could laugh at the immaturity of the entire situation. Really. Dead only because he didn't pay proper attention to the most obvious feature of the landscape._

_Goodbye world._

_A hand caught his wrist._

'_You-'_

'_Didn't I say I wasn't letting go of you?'_

_Too weak to even hold his ground properly, Naruto too went over the edge._

_This guy still amazed him. There he was, battered and bruised, hanging onto the edge with one hand and holding onto his enemy with the other. Naruto's only hope of survival was letting go of him, yet he did not do that. Was he that willing to throw away his life for someone else? Did he not care about what happened to him? By helping a traitor, did Naruto not understand that his life, assuming that they survived, would be ruined?__ He would be branded traitor too?_

Just like someone else,_ spoke his conscience._

_Suddenly, he understood what Itachi had been trying to tell him. And he understood the difference between _knowing_ and _understanding.

_Sasuke chuckled and immediately started coughing. Wow. He was beaten up really badly._

'_What's so funny?' Naruto groaned as the soil crumbled, threatening to give away any moment._

'_Nothing. Just realised something.'_

'_Oh. At least you are enjoying yourself.' Naruto gave a little laugh._

'_You're still so _"noble"._ Why don't you let go of me?'_

'_No way! Who are you kidding?'_

'_You know what?'_

'_Hm?'_

'_This reminds me of one of our first missions. The one where you slashed your hand and gave some speech. And then Kakashi was like, if you don't stop your bleeding, you will die of blood loss.'_

_Naruto grinned. 'Good old days.'_

'_Good old days.' He agreed. 'But I'm serious.'_

'_What for?'_

'_Let go of me. There's no point in both of us dying.'_

'_If you think I'd let you go to save myself-'_

'_Shut up. I'm not like you. I'm dying to save _myself_. Do you honestly think that if I return, people will welcome me with open arms?'_

_Naruto was quiet for a while._

'_I'm sure I can-'_

'_Naruto! Sasuke-kun!'_

'_Down here, Sakura-chan. Hurry. _Hurry. _I can't hold on-'_

_Sakura's hands enclosed his in a warm grip. To her relief she saw that the two men she cared about the most were still alive._

'_Pull us up.' Naruto urged. Sasuke's weight was taking a toll on his already fragile body. Blood trailed down from his nose._

_Sakura tried. She really did, but she couldn't, having used up almost all her chakra while healing others._

'_I-I can't. It's too heavy.' A tear rolled down her cheek. 'I'm sorry.'_

Kami. She was hopeless. All she could do was cry at times of need. Once Sakura Haruno, always Sakura Haruno. Though, admittedly, she _had_ become stronger.

_Sasuke pushed his scornful thoughts away and said in a kinder, gentler tone._

'_Sakura.'_

_She started._

'_Don't cry. Remember the basic rules of being a ninja? Never show your emotions in the battle field. You're a good girl, extremely annoying at times, but good nonetheless. You might try to stop chasing after dreams you can't achieve. Open your eyes to see those around you.'_

_She stared, shocked. It had been such a long time since she had heard Sasuke speak in something other than hostility in his voice._

'_And Naruto.' He continued. Each word cost him some effort. 'Be the Hokage someday, eh? Show them what you're made of. I really wish that things could have gone differently.'_

'_Why are you saying this now, teme?' Sasuke detected fear in the Jinchuuriki's voice. 'Don't speak like that, as if you are going to…'_

_Sasuke closed his eyes and gave him a genuinely reassuring smile._

'_Chidori.' He whispered through smiling lips._

_The hand that Naruto was holding onto erupted into thousands of tiny bright sparks. This was too much, even for the Kyuubi, to heal quickly. His skin and flesh blistered away, exposing bits of his bones. Sasuke's hand slipped from his previously tight hold._

_Sasuke fell down into the abyss, the toxic gas enveloping him. Sakura pulled Naruto up. _

_Seconds later, a huge explosion shook the place, billowing up smoke and gas._

_The two Konoha shinobi went into a state of shock._

_Sasuke Uchiha, _their _Sasuke Uchiha was dead._

_But…_

_Unnoticed to them, along with the smoke and gas, a figure cloaked in protective chakra was also thrown up. It landed a few a metres behind them._

_Sasuke smirked and did a teleportation jutsu._

_He disappeared._

* * *

Sasuke woke up the morning after the storm, his head feeling a bit woozy. The first thing he noticed was that long, _beautiful_ indigo hair fanned out beside and over him. He brushed it off his nose and trailed his eyes up the strand. A dainty little face lay sleeping at the other end. Half the body was on the chair, the other half on him.

Last night's incidents came flooding into his head, especially each little interaction with Hinata.

_Especially _the last little interaction.

Gah. He was sounding like some cheesy romantic nincompoop now.

He gently got up and returned her to the sitting position. That was when the furious knocking began.

_Who…?_

So. He had been discovered. Should he run?

He turned and looked at Hinata sleeping there with her mouth slightly open. He remembered something.

If it were the enemy, i.e., the authorities, why would they bother knocking? So the person/persons at the other end had to be non-hostiles, like Hinata had been when she'd first come. It could be a trap too, but who cared anyway? If the Hokage knew he was here, he would be attacked, irrespective of whether he let them in or not.

He ran through his head the list of people he knew who would ignore a perfectly serviceable doorbell and attack the poor knocker like that.

Slowly, carefully, he undid the bolts. He wasn't surprised to see what he saw.

'It's really you!' Naruto screamed. With tears literally flowing down his cheeks, Naruto jumped on him, tackling him to the ground.

Sasuke tried to resist the slow smile that was beginning to form on his face. He was pleased. Naruto…didn't change after all.

'Sasuke…Sasuke.'

Okay, fine, even he was glad to see him. But that didn't mean that he started behaving like his _lover._

'Oomf! Gerroff me, you bisexual freak.'

Speaking of which…didn't Hinata have a crush on this freak?

Hell. Why did he even care?

'S-Sasuke-kun?'

Sakura?

Sakura pulled Naruto off Sasuke and stared at him with a mixture of emotions on her face.

'S-Sa…I…we...dead... you… you're… you're…still...' She burst into tears and promptly fell on him. Naruto followed in suit.

Sasuke stared at them in disbelief. He would have told them that they were suffocating him, had he not been suffocated.

'Erm…Naruto-kun? Sakura-chan?'

…

A loud banging sound woke Hinata up. She swept her hair out of her face and rubbed her eyes. Where was she?

Ah, yes. At Sasuke's place.

She stood up suddenly and the chair fell down with a crash.

She was at Sasuke's place. Which meant, she had spent the night at Sasuke's place, not at the Hyuuga compound. Neji was supposed to return back to the Hyuuga compound last night. Last night she had, as Sasuke would put it if he actually knew, molested him.

She was not a user of swear words or expletives, but she decided that this was a good time as any to start.

So,

'Fuck.'

People were right. Swearing did reduce stress somewhat. She should have started doing that long ago.

Noises were coming from near the front door. It sounded as if Sasuke had company.

'Why would anybody…?'

Then she remembered. Last night, in the spur of the moment, she had switched on the lights. Somebody must have seen it. If Sasuke got caught, it was entirely her fault. She should go and check it out. And try to save him as much as possible.

A strange and unexpected sight greeted her pale eyes at the doorway. Sasuke was on the floor, with two other people on him. His face was red. Was he blushing? And one of his straddlers was a certain blonde shinobi wearing nothing but his underwear.

Te years ago, she would have blushed and/or hyperventilated/passed out. Now she simply averted her eyes hastily from the somewhat yaoi scene before her.

Oh yes. She had almost forgotten. Sasuke was potentially gay.

'Erm…Naruto-kun? Sakura-chan?'

Naruto and Sakura jumped up at her voice and Sasuke grumpily got up. Naruto's eyes turned from Sasuke to Hinata and back again.

His face split into a wide grin and he elbowed Sasuke.

'Hey, hey, I didn't know you had Hinata-chan looking after you. She looks sleepy. Oh.'

He shot his friend a knowing look. Sasuke face palmed. Hinata gave an embarrassed squeak.

To make things worse, Sakura caught a glimpse of the place in Hinata's neck where Sasuke had bitten into the previous night to stifle his cries.

'Is that a...'

'Hickey?' Naruto completed. 'Oooh.'

Sasuke was aghast. Hinata was aghast. Their eyes met each other's for a fleeting second.

'It is not.' They burst out together.

'What is it then?'

'Erm...etto, Akamaru bit me a few days back.' _Kami. I should really learn how to lie better._

'Really? I thought his mouth was bigger.'

'It was a cat.' Sasuke corrected. 'A cat...bit her.'

'I don't know...' Naruto peered into the mark, till he was breathing down Hinata's neckline. 'Looks human-ish to me. Do cats even bite?'

Hinata mumbled something about cookies.

Sasuke pulled his head away by the hair. He gave a slight cough. 'Get away. You're scaring her. '

'I still think it-'

'It. Was. A. Cat.' He asserted, a bit more violently than necessary.

Hell. How did things come to this?

* * *

**I'm kinda unhappy with this chapter. Seems...**_**stupid**_** to me when I read through it. Anyway, please review.**

**On a side note, I started watching Axis Powers Hetalia. My friends (who're like Germany, China, USA and Romano) say that I'm like Italy. Dunno whether to take it as a compliment or an insult.**


	8. Sentence

**Something just occurred to me. During Pain's invasion, Konoha was destroyed, no? Therefore, **_**technically**_**, the Uchiha compound was destroyed. And since it was, who would bother rebuilding it? They could use the space to build something else. Which…um…destroys the whole base of my story.**

**So.**

**I was wondering if you could ignore that teensy weensy fact that Konoha was totally destroyed? Highly obliged if you did so. Let's just say that it was **_**partly**_** destroyed.**

**Anyway. Thanks to-**

**random fan**

**Saki-Hime **

**kibagaaralover18 **

**Nitinha56**

**NaruHina-love-Cookies123**

**evil-x-love **

**crookshies **

**AkaruiGekkou **

**Hana-01 **

**sKyLaR KnIgHt**

**FallenRaindrops **

**ppeach2 **

**kiya**

**in your dreams as well  
**

* * *

**Sentence**

* * *

'Okay Uchiha. What gives?'

Naruto had meekly suggested that Sasuke go and meet the Hokage, and quite surprisingly, his friend had agreed to do so without protest. After putting on a complex Transformation jutsu, of course. They couldn't have Sasuke parading through the streets undisguised.

As of now, Sasuke and Tsunade were engaged in a staring match and neither of them wanted to back down.

Sasuke pretended to think about it. 'Hm, I don't know. Sometime between faking my death and getting stronger than the whole lot of you put together, I decided that I wanted to settle down in Konoha, fulfill my misunderstood brother's wishes and contribute to the greater good.'

'What a load of bullshit.' Tsunade spat. 'I don't believe a syllable of it.'

'Neither do I.' Sasuke admitted. 'But it's true, trust me.'

'Something that I can't do.'

Without breaking eye contact, Sasuke smirked. 'Oh, but you should. And if I get the time, I might just go around raping and pillaging the village women till they agree to become my concubines or something.'

There was a strained silence. A vein throbbed in the staring match's female contestant's temple.

'Eh…um…Sasuke, you _are _kidding, right?' It was Naruto.

Sasuke shrugged. 'Who knows. Maybe I'll even include top-heavy here to my list.'

The above mentioned woman blinked and Sasuke won the match. Nobody could ever beat Sasuke at staring/glaring. Ever.

The victory aside, there was another silence, even more intense than the last. The calm before the storm.

'Let me go!' Tsunade screamed. 'I'll wipe that stupid smirk off his face!'

Shizune struggled with the Sannin. 'Help me!'

The other occupants of the room, save Sasuke, jumped on Tsunade. He merely clucked. 'Absolutely no self restraint. This place is going to the dogs. Wait. It already has.'

Tsunade withdrew from her attempts to slaughter Sasuke and narrowed her eyes.

'What makes you think we'll give _you_ a second chance?'

'The reason is that you'll want to give me a second chance. Open your eyes, woman. You weren't born yesterday, and neither was I. There's a rumour going around that Konoha's status as one of the most powerful shinobi settlements is declining.'

Tsunade bit her lower lip. Damn him. He was right. Konaha had been torn apart by war and enemies innumerous times, and all the money and resources were used up as aid. She knew all of this, of course. What she did not like was to hear this from the man who was one of the factors that had contributed to her precious village's precarious condition.

'Yeah, so?'

'So. Wouldn't it be helpful if something happened to redeem Konoha? Like free musclepower extraordinaire?'

Whatever Tsunade had been expecting, it most certainly wasn't this.

'Are you-'

'I am. '

This was…amazing. And dangerous. As much as she hated to admit it, the infamously proud Uchiha's proposition was extremely appealing. Having the last Uchiha to work under her, and that to free of cost? She looked at Shizune. Shizune looked back at her. Their visual conversation went something along the lines of-

_Shizune: Tsunade-sama?_

_Tsunade: Damn that kid. What do you think? He's certainly hit the mark. _

_Shizune: And it hurts._

_Tsunade: Even if I agree, the village elders would never _ever _agree. Those old geezers always look for ways to annoy me. That's it. I've decided. He'll stay. Just to bug them._

_Shizune: Er…well…_

_Tsunade: And I want sake after this. Do you understand me? SAKE._

_Shizune: Of course, Tsunade-sama._

Naruto looked at this silent exchange with growing confusion. 'What's happen-'

'Uchiha. You stay.' Tsunade snapped. 'But. There are certain things you need to do to stay, seeing how eager you are to do so. Shizune, explain.'

'What you must understand,' Shizune said, 'is that the general population would like you to be pained, humiliated, tortured, executed, beheaded, eaten, burnt, cooked, incapacitated or debilitated, to put it mildly.'

'Ouch.' Naruto winced.

'So, you need to prove that you are neither harmful nor mentally negligible.' Shizune continued, 'You'll stay under house arrest with one of us till you are judged innocent.'

'Hn.'

'You don't have a problem with that?' Tsunade was obviously startled. _I don't like this. Why's he so complacent?_

'No. Good luck then. Finding a suicidal shinobi, I mean.' Sasuke stated, uninterested.

'I volunteer.' Naruto said instantly.

'Not possible. You're leaving for a diplomatic mission to Suna slated tomorrow.' Shizune reminded him. 'I know it sounds blunt, but we can't risk either you or Sakura keeping custody. You are too emotionally attached to him. It _will_ hamper your judgments.'

Naruto's face fell. Sasuke was about to say that Hinata could make a good caretaker, but decided against it. He'd woven an enough complex web of lies concerning the supposed "hickey", and he wasn't in the mood to be questioned further on that topic. Also, he decided to give Hinata a break. Despite himself, he felt a bit guilty for troubling her, not that he would ever admit it. Hell only knew how she had managed to conceal her last two weeks' activities from her teammates and the Hokage, considering the fact that she must've had missions or something equally useless to do.

Tsunade ordered Naruto to take Sasuke to his apartment the way they had come to her, i.e. by maintaining total and absolute peace. She couldn't help but give a satisfactory smile when she saw the expression on Sasuke's face as his friend took him away, chirping like blonde haired sparrow.

* * *

'Heya Neji!'

'Hello, Naruto.' Neji said, as he entered the Hokage's building. Something was not right with the old woman accompanying Hinata-sama's ex-crush. He activated his Byakugan, a habit he followed whenever he came across something suspicious. His intuition proved right. That chakra…

It was abnormal. Imbalanced.

He shrugged in his mind. Judging from the direction from which they were coming, they had just left the Hokage's office. If something was wrong, the Hokage had probably seen to it. He had just returned from his mission, being around half a day late because of some unexpected snags.

He raised a pale fist to the office's polished doors and paused. He had just heard his name from inside.

…

'I suggest the Hyuugas. Neji Hyuuga should be back anytime soon.'

'But, Tsunade-sama! How-how _can_ you?'

'Do you have a problem, eh, Shizune?'

'Not me, no. But Hiashi-sama-'

'_I_ will talk to that aristocratic pig.'

Neji was slightly surprised to hear Tsunade call the Hyuuga head a pig. At least she had called him aristocratic.

'An isolated dungeon would be better!' Shizune sounded flustered for some reason.

Neji heard Tsunade scoff. 'Don't tell me you didn't notice anything odd about him. He was a bit too complacent.' And then, 'Listening to classified info on the sly is equivalent to espionage, you know. Come in.'

_Classified information is supposed to be discussed in secrecy. That's why it's called "classified"._

Neji opened the door. 'My apologies, Hokage-sama.'

Tsunade dismissed it with a wave of her hand. 'Your report.'

'The mission was a complete success. There were some technicalities towards the end, but they were taken care of, with zero casualties. The Kazekage sends his regards.'

'Good. Now,' Tsunade placed her chin on interlaced fingers, 'I have another mission for you. This is top priority and all other appointments will have to be forgotten. It is a bit dangerous, but on the plus side, you'll be on home turf.'

If Neji wanted to complain, he did not do so. But, he did think of a particular female weapons master.

The things that he heard next lead him to believe that Tsunade, as they put it, had gone off her rocker. Alzheimer's, he knew, was a disease that came with old age and he briefly wondered if the last Sannin was suffering from it or not. Keeping these not-so-nice thoughts about the woman to himself, he listened to his next assignment by keeping his face as a typical Hyuuga's. Firm and aristocratic.

There was something that they were not telling him, and he knew it. Why was _he_ the one to be chosen in particular? Something was relating this mission to his clan. Also, his intuition told him that his Hinata-sama was also involved.

'Very well, then. I will get ready immediately.'

He bowed and left.

* * *

Tsunade glanced with satisfaction at the closing door. 'I suppose you want justification?'

Shizune nodded.

'I saw something in the Uchiha's chakra stream. Something was suppressing it. And that was not all. It looked as if someone had absorbed some of it, purely for medical reasons, though.'

Shizune wasn't surprised. Dealing with and analyzing a person's chakra were the basics for a medic. So, it was imperative that Tsunade, one of the greatest medical kunoichi, would say such a thing.

'Now. Such delicate manipulations with chakra can only be done by members of the Hyuuga clan. So, this brings us to the next thing. Hyuuga, determined. But which particular one?'

'It can be anybody. This could have happened anytime. Maybe Sasuke met one of the Hyuugas on his travels, or while they were going to the Land of Tea. But…'

Tsunade gave a satisfactory grin. 'Go on.'

'But, nobody in their right minds would help him. So our Hyuuga has to be someone kind and gentle. Someone who trusts the universe and everyone in it. Someone like- it can't be!'

'It is. There were traces of Hinata's chakra all over this guy, especially where the absorption levels seemed the highest. And of course, the proofs- her unexplained disappearances, taking only low class or no missions at all, et cetera et cetera. In the beginning I ignored these because I thought that someone had to look after the clan's compound because it was empty. Now the next thing. Giving shelter to S-class criminals without any authority is considered treason. Usually, the perpetrator of such a crime should be punished. Things get a lot difficult when the perpetrator happens to be the heiress of the oldest and most reputed families of Konoha. The best thing we can do now is ignore the fact that she interacted with the subject at all; we wouldn't want another uprising like the Uchiha clan one. Apparently, sweet little Hinata is not as sweet as we imagined her to be. She must have thought all of this.'

Shizune dug her fingers into the clipboard. The Uchiha massacre was one of the primary reasons why Tsunade and she still despised Danzo, and still wanted to sock him, apart from the fact that he was already pushing up daisies.

'Anyway,' Tsunade continued, 'if Hinata managed to soften him down before, she will still be able to do it now. Hence, assigning Neji his mission. Enough explanation. Get me some sake.'

A bit dazed, Shizune handed a bottle over. The Hokage took a huge swig out of it.

'Love is such a strange thing.' She said suddenly. 'It can turn the timidest of daisies into warriors, and the most hardened warrior into a daisy. I wonder if _I_ will fall in love ever again.'

Shizune looked outside to see a certain brown haired man make his way through the streets. 'Who knows, Tsunade-sama. Who knows.'

* * *

It was with a worried mind that Hinata made her way to the Hyuuga compound. It wasn't bad enough that she had spent the night away from home. No. Sasuke just _had_ to get caught and go to the Hokage. She wondered what they would do with him. They wouldn't kill him, would they? If they even tried to, she decided that she would make a big commotion. Her opinions surely had to count in Konoha's political circles. This was what it always came down in the end. Politics, the big power-hunting game that she was forced to take part in.

'Hey Hinata!'

Hinata blinked and realized that she was about to ram into a pillar.

A shaggy, canine-like face appeared in front of her, filled with concern.

'You okay?' Kiba asked. 'Why are you spacing out? Where were you all these days? Shino and I were just talking about you.'

'Are you not well? You look rather white-' Shino began, when Kiba once again nosedived into conversation.

'_What_ is that? Is that a love bite?' he cracked his knuckles dangerously. 'Name the bastard who did this to you. Akamaru and I will go and give him-or her- a little _visit_.'

The huge white dog beside him barked angrily. Shino opened his mouth to say something.

Out of nowhere, Neji popped up and dragged Hinata by the collar to the compound, leaving Shino's thoughts, once again, to remain merely as thoughts.

* * *

Neji cornered Hinata against a wall.

'Is there something I must know about you, Hinata-sama? Something that you might want to keep as a secret?' Neji's voice was as toneless as ever, but his eyes drilled into hers.

What was wrong with everybody? Was the mark really that visible? Should she cover it with makeup or something?

'I-I…' Hinata stammered. It was hard enough for her to lie to people, even harder to do so to her teammates and practically impossible to say anything but the truth to Neji.

'What's this? Have you been doing something…' He trailed off, making it sound much more intimidating.

Hinata's weak wall of defense broke and she confessed everything to her cousin, from the time she'd seen Sasuke in front of the village gates to the time he'd saved her, from the time she'd saved him to last night's incidents.

Neji moved away, giving Hinata some space to breathe.

'I trust you Hinata-sama,' he began a bit emotionally, 'I trust you enough to know that you won't do anything that will hamper your ties with the main branch. But...' he paused, as if unsure of what to say next, 'but...you must remember to draw lines. Lines between kindness and foolhardiness. Lines between friendship and love.'

He walked away, leaving the female Hyuuga's mind in a tizzy over the last words. Neji stopped in mid step and spoke over his shoulder.

'I have been assigned another mission. Apparently it is one of the most important ones of my career.'

'B-But you just got back!'

'There is no need to worry. I will operate in the Hyuuga compound.'

And then,

'I have been assigned custody of Sasuke Uchiha.'

* * *

**Please review! Sorry for the loooooooooong update and the lack of SasuHina-ness. Promise to make it up to ya soon enough.**

**~Andreya~**


	9. Retrace

**A lot of people have been commenting about how they liked Sasuke and Hinata's interactions when they were little. Also, they had some doubts regarding it cuz SasuHina never talked to each other in the Academy, or anywhere else (except that little "Sasuke-kun!" in Bonds). Since I try to keep my story as close to the original anime (as far as I have seen it) as I can, I made this chapter. Hope I cleared everything! Italics= past.**

**Thanks to-**

**Wannabe-Temari.**

**DarkHinata91 **

**lazyguy90 **

**sKyLaR KnIgHt **

**FallenRaindrops **

**crookshies **

**Saki-Hime **

**ByakuganHyuuga360 **

**NaruHina-love-Cookies123 **

**ppeach2 **

**nayyy27 **

**Number1Weirdo **

**littlewitch88**

* * *

_**Retrace**_

* * *

**Si deus me relinquit,**

**Ego deum relinquo.**

**Solus oppressus nigram clavem habere potest,**

**Omnias ianuas praecludo**

**Sic omnias precationes obsigno.**

**Sed**

**qui me defendet?**

**Ab me terribilissimo ipse?**

(If God has forsaken me,

Then I shall forsake God, too.

Only the oppressed may possess a black key,

I close all doors

Thus I seal away all prayers.

However

Who protects me

From the most frightful?

From myself?)

* * *

_Hinata took her seat at the corner of the class and waited in anticipation for her best and only friend to turn up._

_She had not seen Sasu-kun for many days. Recently, he had stopped coming to the Academy to study or to her house to play. And for some reason, her otou-san had expressively ordered her not to go anywhere within a kilometer of the Uchiha sector. She had not seen any of the Uchihas either._

_Maybe they had gone for a vacation or something._

_Yes. That had to be it. A vacation._

_She felt a bit sad and wondered why he had not bothered to tell her bye before leaving. But, at the same time, her 7 year old mind was excited. She couldn't wait to see what gift he'd brought for her from wherever he had gone._

_The classroom doors slid open and a familiar dark-haired boy stepped in. For a second there was complete silence._

_And then the whispers started._

…

_Sasuke hoped that she wouldn't treat him differently. Not her. Not the only person left in the world for whom he felt any sort of compassion._

_No._

_The moment he entered the class, his worst fears were confirmed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her right there, at their usual space, looking at him._

_Staring. Staring. _Glaring._ Just like the others._

_Oh, how he hated those eyes. Looking at him as if he was an animal they had to pity, a weakling they were obliged to protect._

_He didn't need them, damn it. He didn't need their protection or pity at all- he could live, grow up and become stronger on his own._

_He walked up the aisle, past Hina-chan and his seat. He wished that she would say something, anything, even the usual shy 'hi Sasu-kun'._

_She simply looked at him, with something resembling terror on her face._

_Why was she terrified of him? Because he was a freak, an orphan? Because he reeked of blood and death? Because he was polluted and she was pure?_

_Feeling rather sick, he walked on and took a different seat at the end of the class, separate from the rest of the children_

…

_Something was wrong with him. She couldn't help staring at him. He had changed drastically over the last few days. Physically and mentally, she felt. Around her, the whole class reverberated with whispers, sounding like an angry beehive._

'…_did you hear…?'_

'…_killed…'_

'…_entire clan…'_

'…_murdered…'_

'…_elder brother…'_

'…_massacre…'_

'…_only survivor…'_

_The very air around him was different. Usually, whenever he came to the Academy, he practically radiated happiness and enthusiasm. But now..._

_He looked like a caged beast, one that had been tortured for days at an end, one which would snarl at anyone who came near him._

_Her friend made his way up the aisle, towards her. Should she say something? She wanted to greet him like she'd always done, but what if he snapped at her? What if he shunned her, just like her father had ever since Hanabi had started displaying her skills?_

_The very thought scared her._

_Sasuke walked on without as much as looking at her, with a disgusted expression on his face._

_Tears prickled the back of Hinata's eyes, and her face grew hot._

'_This is not you!' she screamed shrilly, to no one in particular and stood up. People stared at her. She tried running out of the classroom, but tripped over her own feet and fell._

_She picked herself up and ran, sobbing._

_Things changed after that day. Hinata became something close to a nervous wreck and Sasuke remained lost in his memories. Their once special friendship lay broken and was gradually forgotten, waiting for something to heal the broken ties and revive it._

* * *

***LETS OUT A HUGE BREATH***

**There. Done. Sasuke's feelings may be a bit mature for a seven year old. Maybe. I guess. The next update may be longer because I am checking, double checking, triple ****checking, quadruple ****checking, penta ****checking, hexa ****checking, septa ****checking, nona ****checking, deca ****checking (okay, now I'm just making words up) all my previous chapters of all my stories, mainly due to the errors in my last chapter.**

**Review…?**

_**I **_**might be suffering from a nervous breakdown soon. Dunno why.**


	10. Confinement

**Thanks to Saki-Hime, ByakuganHyuuga360, ppeach2, sKyLaR KnIgHt, IamALIPED, Numder1Weirdo, random, Naru-Hina-love-Cookies-123, Wannabe- Temari, The Winggoddess, Oh My Glob, Akumu-chama, julieyang92 [MY 100TH REVIEWER!], XxX Uchiha Suraya XxX, Sasha Heild.**

**Okay. I kinda merged two chapters here, and I copied a few lines from 'Piccadily Jim' by P.G Wodehouse. I know it's extremely dishonourable of me and goes against the morals of being a true writer, but I hope you forgive me. Personally, I'm extremely dissatisfied with myself.**

**On another note, YAY! CROSSED THE 100 REVIEW BARRIER!**

* * *

**Confinement**

'I will not allow that filthy, disgusting murderer anywhere near my mansion.'

'Sorry, Hiashi. It's already done and there's nothing you or anyone else can do about it. If there is, I will be the first person to tell you about it.'

'Being the Hokage does not entitle you to assert yourself in the matters of my family.'

Tsunade tapped her chin. 'You're right.'

Hiashi was taken aback, but he kept it well concealed under masked indifference.

'Yes, I cannot interfere in Hyuuga matters. But, as you just said, I am the Hokage. Neji and Hinata Hyuuga are shinobi under _my_ jurisdiction. _I_ have complete authority over them to give them whatever missions _I_ find necessary. Your objections are nothing more than obstructions in the peaceful running of Konoha. Obstructions that I am legally entitled to destroy.'

'I will most definitely have a talk with the Konoha elders about your impudence, Tsunade.' Hiashi said curtly.

Tsunade sighed in mock sadness. _Sick bastard._ 'I did not want to do this, but I guess I have no choice.' She stretched her arms and swiveled her office chair till she was facing the windows, her back to Hiashi.

'Let me tell you a story. Once, there lived a queen. One day, it came to the queen's notice that certain branch family members of a certain highly reputed clan of her kingdom were doing illegal things. Children were going missing. Children that were supposed to be born were never born. Further investigation by the queen's extremely trusted personal assistant revealed it to be cases of trafficking, infanticide and feticide. Now, Hiashi-sama,' Tsunade said politely, her back still turned to him, 'the question is why? Why is this happening?'

The man in question hardened his face.

'What if, Hiashi-_sama_, I told you that the children of the branch families of that certain highly reputed clan were branded? Branded to live their lives in undying devotion to the main family members, their general well being dependant on the wishes of the main family members? So, this naturally answers my first question. The parents most naturally do not want their children to go through the same pain that they had to. Now, for my third question. What would happen if this information became public? Won't that clan be disgraced forever?'

'This is blackmail!'

'Of course not. All I want to say that the queen was quick tempered person. In her anger, certain things could slip out of her mouth.'

Hiashi had lost, and he knew it. He regained his aristocratic calm. 'Very well, Hokage-sama. As you wish. But, if things go wrong, it will be your fault entirely.'

Tsunade waved her hand. 'Good. Wish you a pleasant trip, Hiashi-sama. Prolong it a bit for my sake.'

_And my sake too,_ Hiashi's kage bunshin thought as it disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

…

Hinata strolled through the huge Hyuuga gardens, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her skin. It had been around 7 weeks since Sasuke had come to stay with Neji. She never got to see him, except for the occasional glimpses she caught every now and then. Her cousin seemed to be under a lot of stress, which meant that he was taking his babysitting business pretty seriously.

She paused to observe a pair of squirrels chase each other up a tree.

Hinata continued her walk. Sometimes, she wished that she could talk to Sasuke and ask him how things were going. Back at the Uchiha sector, though she had enjoyed the moments of silence they'd usually shared, she also cherished the moments the few moments he would open up to her. It was during those times that he looked, or felt, normal.

_Not that I mean he is abnormal in any way._

Having reached her destination, Hinata sat down near the foot of a giant peach tree overlooking a koi pond. Her father had built it in memory of his late wife and she used to come there whenever she had any free time.

'Hello, okaa-san.' She whispered and leaned back against the trunk.

'Hey.'

Hinata started. _This place isn't haunted, is it?_

A bit too late, she realised that it had been a man's voice which had originated above her. She looked up.

'Sasuke?'

Sasuke detached himself from the branch and landed noiselessly on the soft grass. Hinata motioned with her hand to sit down beside her. He hesitated for a while and then finally lay down on the ground, a few steps away from her.

'Aren't you supposed to be with Neji?' she asked. Sasuke was never supposed to go out of Neji's sight, though he might be keeping a watch with his Byakugan.

'Yeah, but he asked me to get lost as soon as some woman walked in.'

'Brown hair with two buns?'

'Hn.'

'That's Tenten.' Hinata explained. 'Neji's fiancée.'

'Hell.' Sasuke sounded a bit annoyed. 'If they start getting all lovey-dovey in _my_ room, I'm not going in there until it's fumigated. I'd rather spend the night outside.'

'You can take my bed for the night.' Hinata offered immediately, being the kind-hearted soul she was.

'Ah, really?'

'Of cours-oh.' She just realised the full implications of what she had said and blushed. 'I-I mean, I can pr-prepare another one for you. Or you c-can take my room and I'll take another one.T-that doesn't mean I don't like-like staying with you or anything, I-I just...' she trailed off, flustered.

'You're too nice.' Sasuke declared through closed eyes. 'Too nice for your own good. Big nasty men can take advantage of you.'

'Oh, I wouldn't worry. I'm sure you'll be there to protect me.' She reassured him.

Protect me.

'_I'll protect you, Hina-chan. So don't cry!'_

Those two words had more impact on Sasuke than she had meant.

_Protect her?_ Wasn't that something he'd promised Hinata as a child all those years ago? Yes, he had, naively. It had been nothing more than a spur-of-the-moment decision, something he had blurted out to stop her from crying her heart out. What was the reason, again? Something about her father calling her weak and pathetic.

_How gullible of me._

'So, how's life with Neji?'

'So-so. He's fine as long as he doesn't speak. As soon as he starts-he sounds like a human thesaurus. There are easier ways of putting things.'

'He prides himself on being a Hyuuga. We are a noble bunch, you know.'

'That doesn't mean you need to act as if there is a stick up your ass or something.' He murmured lazily.

'Sasuke!' Hinata reprimanded. 'I'm a Hyuuga too!'

'Well, you are an exception. Better than the rest. Not so snobbish.'

'Nobody's perfect. Everybody has some flaw.'

'Yours being that you lack a backbone. Figuratively speaking.'

'_You_ suffered from superiority complex in the Academy.' Hinata countered.

'The Academy, huh?' Sasuke said slightly wistfully, 'That brings back memories. What was that guy's name-who smelled like he slept with dogs? Inu-something.'

'Kiba-kun? And what do you mean by sleeping? Sleeping, or _sleeping_?'

'...'

'He does not do that.'

'You never know.'

'He does NOT.'

'Are you challenging me, Hyuuga?'

Hinata giggled.

'What's so funny?'

'I was just thinking...you and Naruto-kun are pretty alike.'

Sasuke couldn't help feeling slightly irritated when she brought up his name. Seriously. All everyone ever did in Konoha was to harp on about the Kyuubi vessel's greatness. Sure, Naruto had worked hard to get where he was, but still.

'That's a pretty random thing to say.'

'Both of you _are_ really alike. Both of you are stubborn, like to challenge others, and once you set your eyes upon something, you won't stop unless and until you achieve it.'

'The similarity ends right then and there. It's like comparing a person with ADD to a comatose person.'

Hinata couldn't disagree with the last comment, although Sasuke was far from being in a coma. 'Hai...Naruto-kun _is_ rather flashy. You are more...um...poetic.'

'Poetic?' Sasuke propped himself up on one shoulder and looked at her. 'The only poem I can compose is...' he cleared his throat. 'Let's see...the cat,' he began awkwardly, 'sat on a mat...his head I would pat...overstuffing itself with ramen, it grew...fat?'

This time, Hinata laughed. She did not have that simpering giggle that most girls had, Sasuke noted. Neither did she actually cackle like a hyena. Her laugh was graceful, ladylike.

_Whoa._ He stopped his mind from issuing such unnecessary compliments.

'Can I-' she said and gasped for breath. 'Can I ask you a personal question?'

Sasuke became slightly wary. Even though this was Hinata, he didn't like people asking him questions. Especially personal ones. He returned to his original position.

'Ask away.'

His reply surprised even himself and Hinata's next words even more so.

'What's the most important thing in life?'

'...'

'...'

'Pride.' Sasuke said finally. 'A man without pride is a man without identity. Am I right? Pride is everything.'

'No it's not. Love is.'

'What is?' he asked disbelievingly.

'Love.'

'Love?' Hinata couldn't see his face, but his voice sounded extremely scornful. 'I never thought you'd be so typical. You seemed different.'

'Eh?' she said blankly.

'I hate all this talk about love, as if it were something wonderful that is worth everything in life put together. Every story you read, or every song you hear is about this coquettish girl and boy, or something like that. It's as if all the people in the world are in a conspiracy to persuade themselves that there is something great just around the corner that they can get if they try hard enough. And they hypnotise themselves into thinking of nothing else, and miss all the other, more realistic details of life.

'Love is nothing but a drug, an addiction, something which you perceive as being great because other people say so. If you clear your head of this pathetic deception, you will understand what it really means to live.' There was a hint of bitterness and anger in his voice.

'You don't understand.' Hinata said, looking over to the pond. 'The love I am talking about is not the one you think. For me, love is the feeling you share with those around you- the feeling of happiness and content you share with them. For example, this tree. I love this tree, its leaves, fruits, flowers and every little creature living in it.'

'Even the termites?'

'Even them. And in the same way, I love Neji, Hanabi, Kurenai-sensei, and even you.'

'I'm not sure I like being compared to a termite.'_ She's the same. The very same. Trying to convert me into something soft with all this talk._

'The point is,' she continued, 'even though you disagree with me, you too have some love in you.'

'_You too have some love in you, Uchiha-san.'_

Her last few words struck a chord in Sasuke's mind, giving him a sense of déjà vu. _That_ woman had said the exact same words to him.

'Enlighten me.' _This should be interesting._

'You're pretty famous, Sasuke. Everybody knows what you did, and why you did it. Until the part you...until the part concerning Itachi-san, at any rate. What we don't know is what happened _after_ that- why you joined the Akatsuki or tried to destroy Konoha. But there were reports...reports of you mentioning something about your family whenever you did anything. Take Danzo, for example. He was saying things, wasn't he?'

_How did she know?_

'That got me thinking. What motivated you wasn't anger, it was love. You also love, don't you? You love Mikoto-san, Fugaku-san, and most of all, Itachi-san. You feel love and compassion. If not for the world, then at least for yourself.'

Suddenly, Hinata found herself pinned to the ground, with Sasuke on top of her. She wasn't surprised. She had expected this.

Considering her silent observation of Sasuke, she knew that if she pushed him far enough, he would snap out of his self-imposed cage and start talking. Start expressing his feelings.

All she wanted him to do was to talk. That way, he could finally let go of things and relax. She remembered that night, when she had first seen his broken face, when she had first seen him lose his indifferent mask.

'_I dream about them. I dream about __him. About how I let __him __down. __He __comes to me whenever I'm asleep…I can't take the burden anymore…I simply can't.'_

Sasuke leaned forward, bringing his face near Hinata's. She was aware of a light pleasurable sensation originating somewhere near her lower abdomen and closed her eyes.

Kami, he was so beautiful. She could almost feel his lips pressed against hers, a phantom memory from _that_ night. Damn it! If he wanted to make a point, or assert himself, then why did he have to make it so kinky? Not frightening. Not forceful...well, okay, maybe a little, but why _kinky_?

This was wrong. She couldn't afford to have those perverted thoughts. Especially not when Sasuke was probably homosexual.

But Kami, wasn't he beautiful. Angelic.

Hinata trembled slightly and felt a bit suffocated.

'Don't pretend as if you know anything.' Sasuke whispered smoothly, after what seemed like several agonizing hours. 'Because you don't. I don't have anything to love in this godforsaken world. The only reason why I killed Itachi was because I hated him for killing my family. The only reason why I killed the rest was because I hated them for taking advantage of us. I hated them for taking advantage of Itachi's weakness. I hated them all. Hatred motivated me, not love. I've taken lives over and over again, just like that. And do you know the funniest thing? I don't regret any of it. And yet you have the _audacity_ to say such things?'

'But you don't-you can't forget a-about them. You obsess about them. Everybody has a conscience, Sasuke, everybody. You say you hate, but in reality you try to drown your true feelings in your own words. You love. Love.'

_Conscience?_ Sasuke stared at the indigo mass of hair splayed out in front of him. He did have something like that in him...maybe. After all, he _had_ refrained from killing Naruto when he had the chance.

This was not fair. If he agreed with Hinata, it practically meant he was denying his own existence, his own ideals.

This was not fair at all. Who was she to dominate his life? Who was she to try to get him to change his ways? Who was she to tell him how he really felt deep inside? Who was she to make him question his own life? Who was she to tell him that he loved, rather than hated?

Maybe he did. Maybe not. But his pride wouldn't let him find out the real answer.

'Love and affection- these are like drugs. You'll desire people you love, crave their existence. And when their existence goes disappears, like Ita-when their existence disappears, you feel destroyed. Wasted. Empty.'

There he was. Even his speech- what he had almost let slip showed his softer side. Hinata was a smart girl. She'd most definitely notice.

She did. _Itachi. He's thinking about his brother._

'All I am saying that stop punishing yourself like this.' Hinata said. 'I know you have nightmares. I know you hardly sleep, you hardly eat. Neji says so. Please. I know the real you, Sasuke. You returned to Konoha. Start a new life here. Better than the old one. I trust you.'

_I trust you._

'Damn it! I'm not the Sasuke you once knew, Hina!' Sasuke burst out in frustration.

_Hina? He remembers!_

Sasuke got off her and turned away. 'Stop this, please. I don't know what to do, I'm so confused.' He sounded weary. 'It's you and your goddamn talks that's scrambling up my mind. I just...don't know. Sometimes I despise this place and each and every freaking person in it. Sometimes I think life here isn't all that bad...I don't know what to think. I don't know.'

He felt like crying, but he wouldn't. He had dehydrated himself enough on the day Madara had told him the truth about Itachi.

Yet, here he was, in the very place he had sworn to destroy.

_This is what I am. A hypocrite. Always hesitating to follow what I preach._

'Do me a favour.' Sasuke ran his pale fingers through his contrasting hair. 'Don't ever start this discussion ever again. Ever. Just forget about everything I said, okay?'

'G-Gomen.' Hinata said quietly. 'It's all my fault. It's because I was so stupid...so scared to stand by you when you needed me. If I had that little bit of courage...maybe things would have been different. I blame myself. I-'

Sasuke looked at her apologising and beyond the layers of maturity and an excellent kunoichi, he could see the frail little girl with large eyes who used to cry at the drop of a feather. His Hina-chan. For some reason he wanted to wrap his arms around her and just let go, in the hope that when they broke apart, his life until now would have been nothing but a bizarre dream. He would still be a kid, Itachi and his family would still be alive, and he could still go and spend time with Hina-chan.

'Just forget it. You don't need to say anything more.'

Hinata switched her gaze from Sasuke face to the sky. 'The clouds look especially beautiful today?'

Letting his shoulders sag, Sasuke looked at the sky. 'They do?'

'You need to look at them from my angle.'

Sasuke lay down on the grass beside her, letting a nice, herbal smell fill his senses. He furrowed his brow.

'Yeah. They do.'

* * *

**I couldn't update sooner due to injuries suffered from a suicide attempt.**

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**My friend and I jumped off the ground floor of the school building. He landed on water and splashed mud all over our yoga teacher while I stubbed a toe trying to avoid that teacher and the puddle of extremely muddy water. We swore, got screamed at by the teacher because apparently 'star' students like us should know better than to swear and splash muddy water at passing teachers, then our basketball coach and cricket coach joined in... and basically, we landed in deep soup. That aside, my poor toe STILL hurts! D':**

**Anyway.**

***gets serious***

**I may – I repeat, I **_**may –**_** go on temporary hiatuses at times (study pressure!). Please bear with me. I'll update once or twice each month, starting with the more popular fic of mine (based on the reviews). Once again, I ask you wonderful people to bear with me.**

******Review for faster updates...?**  



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